Penny Martens rappeling in Lower Gravel Canyon, September 2008.
Cedar Mesa is a term used for the southeast corner of Utah: an area of mesas, canyons, mountains, and a whole lot of Anasazi ruins. Geologically, it is dominated by the Cedar Mesa Sandstone, a hard, blocky sandstone that forms “wedding cake” formations - a series of 100-foot vertical steps interrupted by flat horizontal ledges. There is a lot to do in this area, and while the terrain is wild and technical, the number of technical canyons is small. As this website concentrates on technical canyons, we will present a few technical gems from this area, but leave the ruin-hunting trips to others.
NOTE: These canyons all have descriptions that have not been maintained or updated. They can be helpful if you're looking to descend these canyons, but should be taken with a grain of salt. Other information on the Cedar Mesa/White Canyon area can be found in a couple books: Steve Allen's Canyoneering 2 and Michael Kelsey's Technical Slot Canyon Book (rev 2).